Imperfection: A Scorily or Scorlily Fanfiction
by DanneTeenAuthor
Summary: A chance meeting introduces Lily Luna Potter to the Malfoy family. It also decides her destiny. Scorpius/Lily, one-sided Scorpius/Rose
1. Chapter 1: King's Cross

A chance meeting introduces Lily Luna Potter to Draco Malfoy. It decides her destiny as well.

Chapter One:

A small, skinny girl, eight years old, with ramrod-straight, flaming red hair, freckles, and a cheerful expression skips happily onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters behind her parents and brothers. She is smiling so widely it is almost ridiculous.

But it isn't, because she is, in the most extreme sense, adorable. Her big, starry hazel eyes shine with excitement, and her legs flash as she begins to run. Some inner instinct has summoned her and she must obey.

She passes ten-year-old Albus, whose scruffy black hair is in his eyes again, and eleven-year-old James, whose equally black hair is closely cropped in an innocent, good-boy style that hides the mischief in the mind underneath those short curls. She flashes past her mum, who she has inherited her hair and freckles from, and her dad, from whom she has inherited her sense of adventure. She darts on into the throng of people, ignoring the protests from her father, telling her to stop and come back.

She runs for several meters until the instinct tells her to stop, but she is not fast enough. She bumps into a tall man with platinum-blonde hair and grey eyes- hurt eyes, she decides, and he looks down at her with an expression of clear surprise- surprise, she notes, but not resentment or annoyance like most grownups display when a child knocks into them.

"Hello," he says.

"Hello," she replies.

The little girl looks into the man's eyes, searching for something, and at last she seems to have discovered it, and suddenly breaks into her previous smile once more.

"I'm Lily Potter," she says, and she holds out her hand.

The man looks closer at her when he hears her surname. But he takes her hand without hesitation. "I'm Draco Malfoy," he tells her. "I'm glad to meet you."

"Do you- do you have any children, Draco?" Lily looks around at the crowd to either side of Draco as though she expects to see a swarm of young blondes.

She calls him by his first name, and though he seems not to have noticed this, he has. The sound of one's own name from the mouth of another can do strange things, and through the simple word Lily has uttered in her small, birdlike voice, she has formed a bond between herself and this hurt man, Draco Malfoy.

Draco laughs a little. "Yes, I do have a child. One. But he isn't old enough for Hogwarts yet. Next year he will be."

"And you came- alone?" She cocks her head to one side and examines this man. Like the animal who has no fear for a human, this child conducting such a fearless investigation of an adult inspires a sort of awe inside of Draco Malfoy.

She is unafraid.

"I often come," he tells her. "I like reliving memories. They're all I have left, you know."

She looks at him with wonder in her hazel eyes. "That's not true."

"Isn't it?"

"You just said you had a son."

"I did." His voice is reflective, and a little changed. "I did, didn't I?"

Lily nods. "My dad says he has four reasons he gets up in the morning."

"And what are those?"

"Me, and my mum, and Albus and James."

Draco smiles at her. "I don't know your brothers or even your mother very well. But I think you are a very good reason for waking up."

"Thank you!" He has just complimented her, and she smiles even brighter because she knows he means it. "You're bringing your son next year, aren't you?" she asks.

He nods.

"Lily, what a chase you led us! Don't ever do that again- oh, hello."

It is her father, and Lily smiles happily at him in greeting. "This is Draco, Daddy. He's a nice man."

"I know who he is," Harry Potter says, looking up at Draco with a wary expression. "Hello, Malfoy."

"Potter."

"His name is Draco, Daddy," Lily says, innocently unaware of the reason her father has not used this nice man's first name.

"Right. Hello, Draco. Thanks for keeping her here- we'd better go now, Lily, we have to see James off-"

"Daddy, he didn't keep me. I stayed."

"Right."

As they walk away, Draco's lips move soundlessly. Then he clears his throat. "Listen- Harry!"

Harry turns.

"You've got a treasure there," he says, gesturing to Lily.

At last Harry's lips twitch upwards in a smile.

"I know." He turns, and takes his daughter's tiny hand.

As the pair reach Ginny Potter and the two boys, Draco sees Lily impulsively fling her arms around her father, and then watches as she turns to hug her brother, who grins and hugs her back.

Draco sighs, then turns away.


	2. Chapter 2: Malfoy Woes

Chapter Two:

-one year later-

Scorpius Malfoy is afraid of his father. He is small, skinny, and blonde, with a constant frightened expression and splintered grey eyes that are nonetheless beautiful, and he is afraid of his father. He watches as Draco Malfoy, tall and silent, loads what little luggage Scorpius is bringing to Hogwarts into their tiny Muggle car, and wonders how long it has been since his father last smiled.

Draco hands Scorpius the cage in which his new owl, Screech, sits. Scorpius continues to watch as his father gets into the drivers' seat of the car. Scorpius gets in the passenger seat. According to Muggle Law, Scorpius really shouldn't be sitting there, but his father says nothing.

Neither does Scorpius.

Scorpius casts sideways glances at his father as they drive along the dusty road that leads away from Malfoy Manor. Draco has been silent and stiff ever since Scorpius's mother, Astoria, was killed by a misfiring Secrecy Charm two years ago, and has acted as if his mind is as half-healed as his heart.

Scorpius is hurt as well. But he has internalised his pain as his father has not. Scorpius has moved on, but his father seems still to live in a world of grief.

"Son."

Scorpius looks up. "Father?"

"I have to tell you something. Before you go to Hogwarts."

"Yes?"

Draco looks at Scorpius. In his mind, a tiny voice echoes. _'You said you had a son.'_

"When I went to Hogwarts," he tells Scorpius slowly, "I was a bully and a coward and I felt superior to my peers. You must never feel that way, Scorpius. It only leads to future pain."

Scorpius frowns. He has never been one to feel that way. Growing up in the shadows of Malfoy Manor as he has, he has always felt rather lower than others, not above them.

Realising that his father expects an answer, he nods.

They don't say anything for the rest of the ride.

Platform Nine and Three Quarters looks slightly less crowded this year, and Draco can't help but look around to see if that little girl is here again this year.

And she is. She's slightly taller, but her hair is just as vibrantly red and her cheeks are just as covered with freckles. This year she looks a little upset.

She's standing surrounded by her family, who are all laughing and talking to one another, and she is looking a trifle out of things, gazing wistfully at her older brother, who seems happy to be going to Hogwarts at last.

Then Weasley sees Draco, and after muttering something, turns back to look at him again. The rest of the family does as well.

Including Lily.

The little girl's face lights up as she sees Draco, and ignoring her family's protests, she runs over.

"Hello, Draco."

"Hello, Lily."

She turns to look at his son, her eyes big and curious. "Is THIS your son?"

"He is," Draco says, and smiles slightly. "Scorpius, this is Lily Potter."

"It's nice to meet you," Lily says shyly. She holds out a freckled little hand.

But Scorpius doesn't take it. He mutters something unintelligible and moves closer to his father.

Lily looks at him for a moment, head tilted to one side. She doesn't look sad or angry. She looks at him with something very like pity- and a bit of disappointment.

And then, without another word, she turns and skips back to her family, her hair floating out behind her as if it defies the laws of gravity.

Draco, who notices that the entire family is still watching him, nods curtly and turns to his son.

"Scorpius," he asks, "why didn't you shake her hand?"

Scorpius turns red, but says nothing.

"She's just a little girl."

"She made you smile," Scorpius mutters, watching Lily hugging her elder brother Al out of the corner of his eye.

"What?"

"She made you smile. I haven't been able to for two years and she made you smile." Scorpius grabs the handle of his trolley. "I have to go, Dad. But I'll see you this Christmas."

Draco blinks. Then he hugs his son suddenly, which surprises the boy to say the least.

"I didn't think you needed a smile to know I still cared," Draco says. "But I promise, Scorpius, I love you."

Scorpius blinks. Then he hugs his father back. "I love you too, Dad."

Later, on the bus, he actually meets Lily's older brother- Al- and her cousin Rose- who's QUITE pretty, he notices. They become fast friends almost in an instant.

 _Maybe that Lily Luna isn't so bad after all,_ Scorpius thinks as he listens to Al's anecdotes from home, in every one of which Lily makes an appearance- stealing all the cookies from Grandma Weasley's jar, marching around the house banging tin pans at three o'clock in the morning in her father's clothes. _After all- she's gotten me what I couldn't get for myself by running over to me._

 _Friends._


	3. Chapter 3: Holiday

Chapter Three:

\- a few months later -

Scorpius is on his way to the Potters' house for Christmas. Al has invited him, and Scorpius's father is to come for Christmas dinner with the family.

"D'you think Professor O'Callahan would notice if my holiday essay were an inch short?" Al asks reflectively, adding another card to the Exploding Snap castle he, Rose, and Scorpius are building.

"Of COURSE he will, Al," Rose says reprovingly, blue eyes flashing her disapproval. "You know what a stickler he is about 'exact and specific requirements.'"

"Are you coming to the Potters' house for Christmas dinner?" Scorpius asks her, trying not to sound eager.

Rose twists a strand of her silky red hair around one finger. "Didn't you know, Scorp? The family always spends Christmas Day at Grandma Molly's."

"Oh." Scorpius feels a little uneasy. His father might not like being in a house full of people he used to bully.

He's heard the stories by now, and knows what his father did when he was at school. Though he knows his father isn't like that anymore, it bothers him.

Rose smiles at him. "Don't worry; I'll make Dad promise to be civil. You don't have to worry about my mum or Al's parents, or any of the aunts and uncles. And you definitely don't have to worry about Lily. She loves your dad."

He shrugs, flushing as he always does when Rose speaks to him. "Thanks."

"I can't wait to see Lily," Al chuckles. "She'll have gotten so big!"

Rose shakes her head at him. "It's only been a few months, Al. I doubt she's changed much." She sighs. "Though I DO hope she's learned to behave herself."

Al shakes his head at Rose. "You just don't like her because she ruined your favorite quill last year. But I think a Lily who behaved would be no fun at all."

"She seemed rather well-behaved to me on the platform," Scorpius comments.

Rose sighs. "She's sweet, Scorp, but sweet is very different from well-behaved."

"I've missed her," Al sighs. "I never thought I'd miss being woken up at three in the morning by a nine-year old who's either smashed some horrid old vase of Mum's or decided it's a good idea to fly on her Silverstreak indoors."

"You're mental, Al," Rose remarks candidly, and reaches for a Chocolate Frog, trying and failing to look as if it isn't the fourth one she's eaten.

The Exploding Snap Card castle chooses that moment to explode, and incinerates the Harry Potter chocolate frog card she's just laid aside.

When the train screeches to a halt at Platform Nine and Three Quarters, Scorpius looks out the window. And there they all are, the Weasley clan- Mr. and Mrs. Potter, waving cheerfully at the train, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley (George and Angelina), Ron and Hermione Weasley along with their son Hugo, Percy and Audrey Weasley, waiting for their twins, Lucy and Molly, and Bill and Fleur Weasley, waiting for their eldest two, Victoire and Dominique with their son Louis, who is Hugo's age. But Scorpius notices that someone is missing.

Lily.

Her little red head isn't in the throng of parents gathered to welcome their children home. Scorpius wonders why- but he doesn't have to wonder long, for the first thing Al asks when the three friends are off the train, followed by James, is: "where's Lily?"

"She's at home," Mr. Potter says. "She wanted to come, but since she and Roxanne were being wild-"

"Hanging upside-down from the banisters over the foyer, pretending to be monkeys-" Mrs. Potter cuts in, grinning.

"-they both had to stay home," Mr. Potter finishes.

Fred, Roxy's elder brother and James's best friend, laughs. "That's my sister."

Mrs. Weasley frowns over Rose's head at Lily's parents. "That's really dangerous, Harry... I don't see why you and Ginny are laughing."

"It's not as dangerous as flying a racing broom in the house," Al mutters to Scorpius, who smiles uncertainly.

The car ride home in the Potters' magically expanded vehicle isn't very exciting, as Al and Scorpius are talking quietly about Hogwarts affairs and James has been deprived of Fred. But when they get home...

Then, it is a whole different story.

"Hey, Lils!" Al yells as he comes through the front door. "We're home for Christmas! Did you miss us?"

But no answer comes from the upstairs, or the down. Scorpius starts to feel slightly uneasy; has something gone wrong? Is the little girl sick? Injured?

And then they hear the roaring noise in the backyard.

It has snowed at Number 12, Grimmauld Place, and there is a white blanket of snow on everything- which only emphasises the colour of the brilliantly red flying motorbike more. Lily is straddling it and steering, and Roxanne, a small dark-skinned and black-haired girl, is sitting behind her, whooping. Their hair is streaming out behind them, and Scorpius watches in horror as Lily takes the bike into a full loop in midair. They both scream with excitement.

Al is clutching his stomach, laughing so hard Scorpius wonders whether he'll be able to stop. And as for James- he's clutching onto a banister for support, and tears are streaming from his eyes.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter come running out to the back balcony, too, and when Mr. Potter sees what his daughter is doing, he slaps one hand to his forehead. "Angelina'll have our heads if we don't make them come down," he tells his wife, whose lips are twitching as though she desperately wants to join her sons.

"All right," she agrees, and she waves frantically at Lily, who, seeing them, lets the engine stop completely and takes herself and Roxanne into a free fall, finally restarting it just in time to prevent an explosion.

"Hullo, everybody!" Lily says happily, skipping up the back steps towards the family. "Al!" She tackles Scorpius's best friend with a hug that seems designed to strangle him.

Al is still gasping from laughing so hard. "This is why I missed you," he says, grinning and ruffling her hair. "Who wouldn't miss this chaotic little fireball?"

Lily hugs him harder. Scorpius hadn't thought that was possible.

"Nice to see you, too, Lily," James says, pretending to be hurt.

Lily promptly hugs him too. "I thought you didn't like me to hug you, Sirius."

Sirius? Scorpius mouths to Al.

Her name for him, he mouths back. His middle name.

James lifts Lily clear off the ground. "You can hug me anytime you like, Lilybug."

"Lily Luna Potter," Mr. Potter says, trying and failing to look stern, "what have I told you about Uncle Sirius's bike?"

"I thought you meant I wasn't allowed to ride it by myself on Tuesdays," Lily says innocently, her hazel eyes large. "Last time you said I couldn't ride it, it was Tuesday. And Roxy thought so, too, didn't you, Roxy?"

Roxy nods, her many braids bouncing. "That's right, Uncle Harry."

Mr. Potter shakes his head as Lily goes to tackle her mother with another hug. And then, he remembers Scorpius.

"Lily," he says, "this is Scorpius, Al's friend. You met him on the platform, remember?"

Scorpius expects Lily to turn and look at him with those big starry eyes of hers and say hello. But- "Oh, that's nice," she says in her little birdlike voice, and she and Roxy run into the house to get up to more mischief. She doesn't even look at Scorpius, and he thinks he knows why.

Last time it was Lily herself who initiated an attempt to become acquainted, and though there's nothing sulky or mean about her attitude, he has gotten the message.

If he wants to be on speaking terms with her, it's his turn to make the effort.


	4. Chapter 4: Christmas Morning

_Chapter Four:_

 _This week is one of the best Lily has ever had. She's had plenty of time to play with Roxy, since Mummy and Daddy have invited Roxy to stay at No. 12 Grimmauld Place for the whole of the Christmas holidays, and they've had several pranks to play- a couple have been played on Scorpius, but most of them have been played on Al, Sirius, Daddy, and Mummy. For Lily, pranks are merely her way of playing, and a sign of affection. She never tries to hurt or embarrass the people she loves._

 _Scorpius Malfoy isn't someone she loves, so his pranks are sometimes rather more fun to plan._

 _Today is Christmas Eve, and Lily and Roxy are relishing the chance to plan some specially good surprises for Hugo and Louis, their pranking rivals, and a couple more for Rose- Lily's never entirely forgiven her for getting so angry over that stupid ugly peacock-feather quill._

 _But before they get down to tomorrow's planning, they need to go through with today's plans. They take this very, VERY seriously; they have set up a pretend office in Lily's room made of cardboard boxes where they keep their plans, and Lily now pulls the plans out from under a cushion and looks them over critically, her little forehead scrunched into a speculative crease and her hazel eyes serious in her little freckled face._

 _"Right, Roxy, we've got the sledding one for the boys- then there's the Steal All The Cookies one-"_

 _"I like that one," Roxy says happily._

 _"And THEN," Lily says, pausing as though listening to something, "we've got the Chase The Boys Out Of Lily's Room One."_

 _Roxy grins, and they rush out of the cardboard office to pursue James, Scorpius, and Al, who are yelling, "Help!" and, "Murder!" and, "Gerroff me, Lils!" Lily and Roxy are shrieking triumphantly as they rush down the stairs, and they pursue the boys into the family room, where Lily ties Al and Scorpius to a chair with her father's least favourite ties and Roxy tackles James to the couch and straps his wrist to the chair with a belt of Al's (they keep kidnapping supplies in their office)._

 _They smile cheerfully and then run from the room._

 _"Scorp, this was the worst idea in the world," Al groans._

 _"How was I supposed to know your skinny little sister had fox's ears?"_

 _"You were supposed to know because I told you she could hear very, very well," James smirks._

 _Mr. Potter comes to the doorway of the family room, probably summoned by the noise, and begins to laugh. "Ginny, come and look at this."_

 _Mrs. Potter appears in the doorway and has to clutch her husband for support because she is laughing so hard. This goes on for several minutes until Al asks, "I don't suppose you'd mind untying us?"_

 _Meanwhile Lily and Roxy are in the kitchen, looking with completely disinterested curiosity at Mummy's cookie jar._

 _"I don't think she'd notice if we took just a few each," Lily decides._

 _"No," Roxy agrees solemnly. "She wouldn't."_

 _"Besides," Lily adds, "we need to test them to see how they taste."_

 _"Definitely," Roxy agrees._

 _And they take the cookie jar with them on their exodus back upstairs._

 _"Of course," Lily says once they've re-situated themselves in their 'office,' and begin to eat the cookies (Mummy makes the best cookies in the world), "this can't be good for us."_

 _"We work it off when we ride our brooms," Roxy protests._

 _"True," Lily agrees. And they proceed to go over the rest of the day's itinerary, scratching out the 'Prank The Boys While They're Sledding' one because the boys (sneaks) have heard that one._

 _Christmas morning at the Potter home is a chaotic affair, starting at five in the morning because Lily can never wait longer than that and ending at around twelve, when the family goes over to the Burrow. But this morning, because of the additions of Roxy and Scorpius, there is even more mayhem. Roxy and Lily go down as early as they possibly can, soon followed by Al, Scorpius, and James. Scorpius is holding a small package which he hopes to use as a peace offering to Lily, and he places it behind the tree along with the presents he's gotten for Al, James, and Mr. and Mrs. Potter, who come down behind the boys._

 _Lily opens her presents with delight- there's a Silverbolt 3000 from Mummy and a broom servicing kit from Daddy- and there's also a motorbike helmet from Daddy which has a note attached to it:_

 _Please at least wear this when you take it._

 _There's a Hogwarts toilet seat from Sirius, which she's grateful for and thinks is highly amusing (though perhaps Headmistress McGonagall might not think so), a stuffed owl from Roxy whom she immediately christens 'Hooty,' and a... oh, what is this?_

 _She didn't expect a present from Scorpius. After all, he wouldn't shake her hand on the platform and he spied on her yesterday._

 _But there's a small, green-wrapped parcel behind the tree, and it's labeled:_

 _To Lilybug_

 _From Scorpius_

 _She picks it up, looking at it curiously. And then she carefully slits the parcel open, preserving the paper._

 _Scorpius watches the little girl's face light up as she pulls a tiny charm bracelet from the parcel. Hanging on it are four charms: a broomstick, a cookie, a tiny motorbike, and a lily._

 _Lily runs her slender little fingers over the silver charms, and just as she knew Draco Malfoy meant what he said when he spoke to her, she knows that Scorpius means this as a sort of apology- and she is also pleased that he knows about all the things she likes most._

 _She turns to him, and her big hazel eyes are starry with appreciation and comradeship._

 _"Thanks, Scorpius," she says._

 _And he likes it, oh, my, yes, he likes it- the sound of his name coming from this little birdlike girl, and the light in her big eyes._

 _Names have power, and Lily has unconsciously formed as stronger bond with Scorpius than she has with his father, by the simple utterance of his name._

 _But neither will discover this until much later._


	5. Chapter 5: The Station

Chapter Five:

When he sees her next after that Christmas, it is on Platform Nine and Three Quarters, and she's seeing her brothers off again. She is ten, and her hair is longer; she's the tiniest bit taller, and she's more freckled than ever. In addition to this, her already large eyes seem to have gotten larger.

She runs over to Scorpius and his father as she did the year before, and this time Al comes with her. Scorpius notes that she's wearing the charm bracelet he gave her.

Draco greets both children with a smile. Many changes have come to him this year. He is warmer and kinder, and his eyes have a healed look about them. Scorpius has even heard him laugh over the summer holidays. But Draco has a bent look, too, and there are grey hairs in the platinum blonde. He is paler than usual, if that is even possible. Scorpius has not noticed this, and neither has anybody else but Draco.

"Hello, Draco," Lily says. She hugs Scorpius's father.

"Hello, Lily," Draco says. He holds out a hand to Albus. "Al." Then, turning back to Lily- "Are you bound for Hogwarts this year, Lily?"

Lily shakes her head; her grin doesn't falter. "Next year I'll be old enough."

Draco smiles. "I'm sure you'll do wonderfully."

Rose runs over. "Scorpius, Al, we'll miss the train-"

She ignores Lily; something about Lily, Roxy, a dungbomb, and James's pet iguana has made her dislike her younger cousin still more.

Lily smiles and waves as the older children leave. Draco looks fondly at her.

She turns back as the train pulls away, and her eyes are worried as she takes in Draco's bent posture and his pallid skin. "Have you a pain, Draco?"

Draco smiles wryly. "Yes, Lily."

"Does it hurt very badly?" Lily's eyes are concerned.

Draco's eyes are kind as he replies, "Not very badly, Lily."

Harry comes over. "Hello, Draco." He and Draco came to a reconciliation of sorts that Christmas half a year ago, and since then have done work together at the Ministry; Draco's the Head of the Department for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Wizardry.

"Hello, Harry."

Lily, sensing that the grownups need to talk about something which doesn't involve little girls, skips off happily.

Draco watches her leave. "I know I've told you this before, Harry, but your daughter is a treasure."

Harry smiles. "She is."

Draco coughs. "I wonder if you could- er- lend her to me a couple of times this school year?"

Harry looks at him with raised eyebrows.

"It's just- I get so dashed lonely, with Scorpius gone. Lily's always been able to cheer me up-"

Harry's face relaxes. "I understand." And he does. He knows that if he didn't have Ginny and Lily, he would be utterly and completely bored and dissipated. "You can have her for a couple weeks- you could have her for Christmas, too, if you like- you'll come to the family Christmas dinner, of course?"

Draco nods. "Wouldn't miss it. Listen, I think Ron's trying to kill me with a stare, I'd better leave."

"Alright," Harry agrees. "See you around, Draco."

"Sure."

And this time as Harry walks towards his wife and child, Draco smiles and begins to think about what Lily would like to do most at Malfoy Manor.


	6. Chapter 6: Malfoy Manor

Chapter Six:

Lily, who is nearly eleven now, stands on the front steps of a huge house with her father, who has one arm protectively around her. It is two weeks before the winter holidays, and Lily will be staying there for four weeks, which means that Scorpius will be there for a week and four days.

Lily feels a little at loss without her other half, Roxy, by her side, but she is looking forward to this stay. She wants to help Draco feel less lonely for Scorpius, and knows she'll have what Roxy would call a "smashing" time.

Harry smiles down at Lily. "Are you ready, Lilyflower?"

She smiles- and her nose crinkles, a recently acquired trait most likely born of constant squinting. Lily, it appears, may need glasses- or a treatment at Saint Mungo's that'll fix her eyesight. Harry is leaning towards the glasses. He thinks Lily would look adorable in them. But Ginny has already put her foot down on that point- Lily isn't very gentle with her belongings. Besides, she doesn't want Lily to be teased.

Lily doesn't care either way. She's never worried much about looks, as Rose does.

She has her Silverstreak 3000 slung over her shoulder, and she's clutching a small suitcase- but other than that, she has no luggage.

"Go on, Daddy. Knock."

Her little voice is so much more mature now that Harry almost feels sad, but instead he grins. "Alright." And, raising one hand, he knocks on the large front doors of Malfoy Manor. There's a pounding of footsteps, and the door opens.

Draco's hair is now decidedly grey, but his eyes are even warmer- as if the warmth and energy of his body have been transferred to his soul. He smiles at Lily and shakes Harry's hand. "Come in?"

"Sorry, I can't," Harry says. "Ginny's got a practise for the Harpies; they're starting training even earlier this year and I promised her I'd be there."

Draco nods. "Alright, then."

Lily turns to hug her father with the hand not clutching her broomstick. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Lilyflower."

Once he has apparated, Draco puts a hand on the little girl's shoulder. "Come along, Lily. Let me show you the room I've got ready for you."

Lily follows Draco through the halls of Malfoy Manor, looking around at the paintings and chandeliers in typical little-girl awe. They go up flights of stairs and down, through passages and then- finally- up a spiral stone staircase, so high Lily feels that they must have passed the clouds.

And then they clear the last step and find themselves on a little landing. Draco must stoop here, but the ceiling is exactly the right height for someone of Lily's size, and a set of grey-painted, steep wooden steps ascends to a little trapdoor in the ceiling.

"Go on," Draco tells her. "I'll come up after."

Lily begins to climb the steps, and then finally emerges into a perfectly round, lovely little room. There's a canopy bed, a little one just her size, and a beautiful little set of drawers. There's a little fireplace, in which a tiny, cheerful fire is crackling, and on a mantel above the fire are two things: a vase full of lilies and a small box with little cookies in it.

"Oh," Lily breathes. Her eyes grow large with delight.

Draco's head pokes through the trapdoor. "Like it?"

"Can't you come up, Draco?"

He shakes his head. "The room was made for somebody smaller than I am."

Lily frowns. "Who was it made for, Draco?"

Draco's eyes grow pained, and Lily senses that something is wrong.

"Never mind, Draco," she says. Her hazel eyes are concerned.

"It's alright, I'd like for you to know." He sighs. "A while back, my wife was... well, she was going to have a baby, and we got up this room for it." He looks up at Lily suddenly, wondering if she has received what Scorpius calls "the Talk," yet, but her expression is completely unsuspecting, so he continues. "The baby... she was to be a girl... the baby didn't live."

"Oh," Lily breathes, and her eyes fill with pity for her friend. "Draco, I'm so sorry."

He smiles at her, and the momentary pain which has brushed his expression leaves. "I don't mean to frighten you, Lily, with that story. You shan't mind it very much?"

Lily shakes her head vehemently. "I never could, Draco."

She spends the next week in such an ecstasy of content that she wonders how it can really have been actually seven days; and yet so much has happened. For one thing, she's run up and down every corridor at least seven times (and the carpets are so springy!). For another thing, she's fallen completely in love with her little room, and feels so safe and happy there that she wonders if heaven is anything like it. And for another, she's gotten to know the Manor inside and out- she has climbed nearly every tree on the grounds, and she's 'adopted' one of the albino peacocks, which she has named Bigbeak. Just why Albus sounds so amused about that name in his letters to her is anyone's guess.

One day, as she is eating breakfast with Draco in the dining room (which she likes to call the Happy Room), she receives a letter which is not from Al, delivered by an owl totally unfamiliar to her.

"That's Scorpius's owl," Draco observes as it flies over the table and drops a thick letter on Lily's plate (and nearly lands another little offering there, but misses and instead hits the tablecloth).

"Is it?" Lily asks curiously, watching Draco remove the bird's offering with a spell.

"It is," he says, swatting the owl away from him and snatching the other letter it holds. "This one's for me..."

"Then this letter is- is really for me?" Lily asks wonderingly, looking triumphantly at the little parchment envelope. She's never had a letter from someone she isn't related to before, and therefore is quite curious as to what could be inside of this one.

"It is," Draco tells her, smiling. "Listen- I'm working from home these weeks that you're here, but I haven't done any actual working yet, so-"

Lily smiles. "I'll go to my room. Daddy sometimes tells me I'm very distracting."

"You are," Draco replies. He's smiling wider. "That doesn't mean that you're a bad distraction, though."

Lily gets up, clutching her precious letter, and turns to go, but before she does, she notices something.

"Your hair isn't all gray anymore, Draco."

"What?"

It's only when she's gone that he goes to the mirror and sees a small streak of his former platinum blonde in the gray.


	7. Chapter 7: Letters Between Friends

Chapter Seven: Letters Between Al, Scorpius, Rose, and Lily

 **Dear Lilybug,**

 **To be quite honest, I'm not writing because I have any huge overpowering desire to- but Al is writing to you right now, and Rose is writing to her git boyfriend from Beauxbatons (he's not really her boyfriend- SHE says he's just a pen pal, like I'm convinced by that rubbish) and Quidditch practise was yesterday. So I'm bored, frightfully bored. The Gryffindor Common Room should have a quiet study area, but it doesn't, and people are so loud I can't concentrate, and so there's nothing to do.**

 **Not that I don't WANT to write to you, of course. You always seem to make people feel better, and I could use a lift. Studies are hard, and Al accidentally landed me in detention by writing POO on the back of my Quidditch robes. For some reason that stupid old Snoutworth (he's the caretaker) thought I'd done it myself on purpose to make everyone think me clever. So if you could write back it'd be loads of fun.**

 **I hear you're staying at my house- and you'll be with us for the holidays, too! That's brilliant. I have so many questions, so I'll just ask them as fast as I can write- how's Roxy? And how's your little stuffed owl, Hooty? How's my dad doing? How do you like the Manor? Do you know anything about Rose's git pen pal that you can tell me (besides the fact that he's a git, I know that)? Did you bring your Silverbolt to the Manor? If you did, we can have pickup one-on-one games when I come. Bet you're good; a broom has to be easier than a motorbike. D'you think Rose fancies me? I know you won't tell Al or Rose about that part, so I decided to ask it straight up. How tall have you gotten? Bet I'm still loads taller than you. How's Grandma Weasley? Tell her I'm looking forward to Christmas Dinner at her house; it's spectacular.**

 **Oh, Merlin, Rose is coming over right now- I can't keep writing, what if she saw the part about-**

 **Write back soon!**

 **Scorpius**

 **P.S. Here's another charm for your bracelet.**

 _Dear Scorpius,_

 _Thank you for the owl charm. It looks just like Hooty and now my bracelet makes even more clinky noises!_

 _Rose is a super brilliant girl but she hasn't a particle of taste in boys (or quills) so I'm not surprised if she really does have a git of a pen pal. Tell her from me that whoever he is, she can do better. I haven't heard any more about him than you have, so I can't say what he's like or anything._

 _Roxy is brilliant, at least I think she is- she sent Fred a magical hair dye disguised as shampoo; did he get it yet? If he didn't, PLEASE don't tell him, it's such a funny prank and besides, you're not a prefect yet (though you probably will be one day). Hooty is good- he's with me right now, on my bed. Draco gave me the left-hand tower room- it's such fun and so pretty! Draco's doing okay, I think. Your owl almost pooped on me this morning when it delivered your letter and it ripped his robe sleeve because it tried to land on his shoulder. Also I really like Malfoy Manor! I drew a mustash (is that how it's spelled?) on your grandpa's portrait in the gallery. When Draco saw I thought for a minute he was angry, but then he drew a beard on it too so I don't think he was angry. Your grandpa had very long hair._

 _I brought my Silverbolt- and I'm going to beat you into the dirt. Probably. Of course, I wouldn't ACTUALLY hurt you. I think Rose definitely fancies you, or if she doesn't she should. You're a blonde boy with Quidditch skills and excellent study habits and her father hates you. That should be enough for her, right?_

 _I'm not much taller, really. That's okay though because I want to be a Seeker and Daddy says Seekers do well if they're short. And Grandma Weasley is good. She'll be so happy you asked!_

 _How is everyone? James will be going to Hogsmeade. Wish I could. Could you ask him to get something for me from Uncle George's joke shop? Also tell Al from me that if he behaves himself I'll never forgive him. That's really funny, what he did with your robes- unless you couldn't get it off?_

 _What are your classes like? What does my dad do when he goes in to teach at DADA classes? What is Victoire doing now? Is she stressed about her N.E.W.T.s? What about Dominique? She's in your year, you know, even if she's a Ravenclaw, so you ought to know. And Fred, and Molly, and Lucy?_

 _You'd better reply to this,_

 _Lily_

 _P.S. One good turn deserves another, so here's a Fortescue Jr. Chocolate Bar. I don't know of anything boys like better than food._

 _P.S.S. Give the new, VERY EXPENSIVE quill to Rose. Don't keep it for yourself._

 _ **Dear Lily,**_

 _ **Thank you for the quill. I'm sorry I was so cross at Christmas.**_

 _ **Rose**_

 _ **P.S. What is it like at Scorpius's house?**_

Dear Lily, 

What're you playing at, giving Scorp chocolate but not your dear brother? Come off it!

Al

P.S. Sorry this letter's short, I'll send a longer one when you send me chocolate.

P.S.S. Yes, I'm blackmailing you.

 **Dear Lilybug,**

 **I never saw anybody so pleased as Rose was at that dratted quill. Did you know she would be that pleased when you sent it? I think she's forgiven you now for the iguana incident and the peacock-feather quill thing.**

 **Of course, the first thing she did with it after writing you a thank-you note was write to her git pen pal.**

 **Thanks also for the chocolate. It was good, and I had to put up a valiant fight against Al for it, which meant that my Herbology essay had chocolate smudges on it. But I won. And I did get the paint smudges off my robes. So no harm done.**

 **Fred got the dye. You're lucky I'm not a prefect. Also, tell Roxy to make it blue next time so he can pass as Teddy.**

 **When your dad comes to do DADA lessons, he generally first tells us that what he's doing has nothing to do with skill, it's all luck, and then he astounds us. Bit of a contradiction, but I like your dad. He's brilliant. Rose's dad came one time and he looked mad that I existed.**

 **My classes are mostly the same, as long as I work hard, and I've got to finish this letter in a hurry as Al and Rose and I are going to go visit Hagrid this evening. But everyone is good, especially Victoire, because Teddy Lupin is coming to Hogsmeade the next free weekend.**

 **I can't believe it's only four days until I see you again! Can't wait. Al's mad because he says I'm stealing his little baby sister. Could you please send him a nice long letter of reassurance so he can stop acting like I cursed his favourite puppy?**

 **See you soon,**

 **Scorpius**

 **P.S. James got you this new detached Extendable Ear in Hogsmeade. He thought you'd like it. Also the Honeydukes chocolate.**

 **P.S.S. The ladybug charm is from me.**

 _Dear Rose,_

 _Scorpius's house is great fun. He's coming home tomorrow, you know._

 _I'm glad you liked the quill. I thought you would. Also, who is this pen pal Scorpius keeps complaining about?_

 _Lily_

 _P.S. Don't tell him I told you he's complaining._

 _Dear Al,_

 _Don't be silly, and here's your chocolate._

 _Lily_

 _P.S. Yes, I KNOW it isn't the same kind I gave Scorpius._

 _P.S.S. I am NOT a little baby._


	8. Chapter 8: Budding Hopes

Chapter Eight:

When Scorpius arrives home from Hogwarts for the holidays, he almost doesn't recognise the previously gloomy, inhospitable house. Malfoy Manor is decked with holiday decorations and glowing with lights in every room.

"It was Lily's idea," Scorpius's dad tells him when he comments on the change. "She thinks the house is 'too gloomy.'"

"Where is Lilybug?" Scorpius asks, looking around.

"Out back on that infernal broom of hers. She's practising so she can beat you, she says." Draco laughs when he sees Scorpius glance towards the stairs that lead to the nearest back door. "Yes, you can go."

Scorpius takes a detour to his bedroom to get his own broom, the same model as Lily's, and a cloak. Then he rushes downstairs and out into the wintry air. He looks around for Lily. Where is she?

A whoop sounds from above and, looking up, he sees Lily at least a hundred feet up in the air dangling upside down and grinning at him. He's nearly sick to his stomach. What if she should fall off? She's only ten, after all, even if she is the daughter of two of the best Quidditch players in the world.

Lily descends at a breakneck speed, still upside down, and pulls up once her upside-down self is at eye level with him. "Hello, Scorpius!" She's smiling like mad.

"You could have broken your neck." He tries to look angry but can't.

She flips over and jumps off the broom, plucking it from the air on her way down. "That's nothing. Glad you weren't there when Roxy and I decided to see how cold it is above cloud-cover on Uncle Sirius's motorbike."

Scorpius groans. "What did your father do?"

Lily looks cheerfully thoughtful. "Strangely enough, he never found out."

"I ought to tell him."

"You couldn't!"

They begin to walk towards a small pond surrounded by birches, which is frozen over.

"So," Lily asks him, "did you find out about Rosie's pen pal?"

"Oh, yeah." Scorpius grins. "She showed me a picture of him on the train. Specky bloke. Loads of greasy hair. I'm no longer jealous."

Lily grins mischievously at him. "Oh, jealous, are we? You fancy Rose, don't you?"

Scorpius finds himself flushing. "Yes," he mutters, and feels somehow as if he's lying- but he isn't.

Lily looks at him with an odd sort of penetrating look in her eyes- HOW have they gotten bigger? She says nothing, but he feels as though she knows exactly what he is feeling.

The holidays at Malfoy Manor have never been better. Scorpius finds himself swept into a current of fun and amusement every day, whether he's showing Lily how to make cookies in the kitchen, learning from her how to execute a free-fall dive on a broom (which is very fun, no matter how dangerous it looks), showing her the secret passageway leading from his room to the outdoors (Draco knows about this one but doesn't say so, as he doesn't want to spoil the fun), looking at the photos she likes to take (Lily is a brilliant photographer- and the ones of Al are particularly lifelike), or trying to see if Filibuster Fireworks can be set to make naughty messages in the sky (they can, and Draco groans when a fluorescent pink one whizzes past his office window, spelling out the words 'THE MINISTER EATS DRAGON DUNG.' He's particularly grateful that his boss is coming to visit tomorrow, not today). Lily does beat Scorpius in Quidditch, several times actually. But he doesn't mind. She has such an adorable, sweet manner- she seems almost sorry to win- that it's almost as good as winning to hear her say, with an anxious expression: "I'm sure you would have won, Scorpius, if you hadn't dropped the Quaffle in the first round- and besides you know I haven't been busy with schoolwork for months like you have."

In fact, Scorpius has so much fun that he forgets to hint to his father that perhaps Al and Rose might like to stay the week, too. Lily is such a profoundly satisfying companion, and he never has an awkward or upsetting moment when he's around her- unless he's talking about his feelings for Rose. He continues to feel as though he's lying on that subject.

The week passes with never a boring moment. He and Lily are having the time of their young lives, and for a little while Draco seems younger and stronger. But on the night before Christmas, as Scorpius and Lily hang their stockings on the huge fireplace in the drawing room (Lily hanging an extra for him, insisting that he ought to have a stocking, too), he looks worn and grey and distinctly tired and sad. Perhaps he is reflecting on the fact that both of these young, happy children will soon leave him.

A smile flits across his face as he watches Lily hug Scorpius (who has just given her a tiny Christmas tree charm for her bracelet). He likes to see such an innocent, childlike display of affection. And it's then that he begins to cherish a slight hope that Lily, whom he already views as almost a daughter, might someday actually become his child.

He doesn't speak about this hope to anyone, of course. He knows that it's highly unlikely that anything of the sort will happen- after all, Scorpius is two years older than Lily, and will most likely fall for Rose Weasley instead, who has more going for her by way of looks- sparkling blue eyes, a pink and white complexion with no freckles whatsoever, and an abundance of silky red ringlets.

Still, Draco hopes. And who knows? Perhaps, someday, his wish will come true.


	9. Chapter 9: Escapades

Chapter Nine:

The next morning, Christmas morning, Draco is awoken by two blurs rushing into his room, one red and one silvery-gold.

Lily jumps up and down. "Draco, wake up, wake up! It's Christmas!"

"That much is obvious," he groans, and rolls over in a vain attempt to block the chilly winter light coming through the window.

It doesn't work.

"Come downstairs!" Scorpius exclaims. "We've got presents!"

"Did you think you'd get coal?" Lily asks, sounding genuinely interested.

"No, silly, but I thought Dad was too tired to-"

"I'm up!" Draco announces loudly, sitting up and going to his closet. "Wait outside the door and I promise, I'll be out in a minute!"

As he begins to get dressed, he hears Lily and Scorpius begin to count under their breaths. "One... two..."

Lily is very pleased with her presents. Draco has given her a special streamline cap to place at the end of her broom, as well as several pranking items (he says she musn't use them on him). Scorpius has given her only one thing- it's another tiny little charm for her bracelet, this one shaped like a snowflake. But it's made of solid gold, and it's beautiful.

"There was one shaped like a heart at the shop," Scorpius confesses. "I thought about giving Rosie that one, but you know I didn't give her a bracelet, and it feels sort of special, doesn't it? Almost like- like the bracelet is just YOURS. I couldn't give one to anyone else anymore."

Lily smiles. This pleases her, this sort of exclusive bond, and she waits eagerly for Scorpius to open the present she's gotten for him. He gives an exclamation of delight.

"Lily, you shouldn't have gotten this- it must have cost you so much-"

It's a beautiful gold wizarding watch, with moons and stars circling the center and several odd little devices on the side that he can't figure out.

"It's not that good, you know," Lily says with a smile and a shrug.

"It's more than good." Scorpius turns the watch over. "What does this little knob do?"

Lily leans closer to look. "I think if you twist it backwards it helps you to remember things you've forgotten."

"What if I twisted it forwards?"

"Nothing happens- see?"

Draco's present from Lily is one he can't feel pleased enough at- it's a pair of gold-tassel bedroom slippers, but that's not what pleases him most. Attatched to the slippers is a note:

To Draco

I hope you like them, and that you'll think of me when you wear them.

Love,

Lily

The Burrow is sparkling with a thousand lights as they drive up in Draco's little Muggle car, and Lily leans out the window excitedly. "I can't wait to see everybody!"

"I can't wait to show Al my watch," Scorpius grins, twiddling with another little knob (this one makes time seem to go faster).

The minute the car has stopped, Lily jumps out and runs towards two black-haired figures who are pelting towards her at a breakneck speed.

"Lils!"

"House has been boring as History of Magic without you-"

"I missed you so much- you'll never believe what I've got you-"

"Love you, baby sister."

Lily smiles like she's been handed a million pounds and hugs both her brothers tightly. "I missed you both, too."

Sirius lifts her into the air (she's so small he can still do it) and she shrieks happily. He won't put her down, but insists on carrying her in "because you're my little princess of a sister."

Scorpius and Al are talking to each other so quickly that they sound like a motor, and the small group enters the Burrow, followed by Draco, to be greeted with the usual bedlam.

"Aw, Lils, why'd you have to come just now?"

"We were having a perfectly brilliant time without you."

It's Hugo and Louis, and Lily jumps from Sirius's arms to pelt after her cousins, yelling, "That's two presents I won't be giving, gits!"

She finds Roxy in a millisecond, and is diverted from her pursuit just as quick.

"Roxy!"

"Lils!"

"You'll never believe what I did at malfoy Manor- oh, Merlin, it's been too long-" and, in a whisper- "did you bring the class A pranking supplies?"

"You know it," Roxy grins, and they speed upstairs to Uncle George's old room to plan out their attacks on Hugo and Louis.


	10. Chapter 10: First Year

Chapter Ten: First Year

When Lily comes to Hogwarts, she is Sorted into Gryffindor, along with Roxy, Hugo, and Louis. There must be something in Weasley blood that makes you a Gryffindor, Scorpius reasons.

The first year of her Hogwarts career is a notable one. She and Roxy drive Professor McGonagall mad with their pranks and inability to pay attention in class, but they're saved from the disapproval of that worthy lady by landing spots on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, the first first years to do so since Lily's father was at school, and leading the team to winning the Quidditch Cup.

Lily does not do very well at her classes at all, though she has plenty of talent. She prefers to pass notes to Roxy and to devote her free time to pranks and exploring the castle. By the end of her first year, she has discovered six new secret passages and is planning on creating her own magical map of Hogwarts. When chastised by Scorpius for breaking rules and not working hard in class, she merely sticks out her tongue and darts off to rig a bucket of Stinksap over Fred and James's dormitory door or pull some other amusing stunt, her pin-straight hair dancing on the wind following her as it always does.

Lily seems to have a particular gift for insults that Scorpius has never seen before, as he's never seen her with people she dislikes. But now that she's in a school with a plethora of gits, Lily's talent is brought to everyone's attention, particularly when people are bullying younger students. On one of these incidents, the day before school ends, in the Great Hall-

"You're filthy," sneers Adrian Puce to Roxy. "A filthy daughter of blood traitors..."

Roxy flushes furiously and grabs her wand from beside her plate of kipper, gripping it like it's Puce's neck. "Don't insult my parents, you concussed sack of pig piss."

"How dare you?" Al asks furiously. Lucy fingers her wand, Molly begins to swear, and Rose and Dominique glare at Puce. Fred, unfortunately, is out with James, Louis, and Hugo pulling some stunt or other, and isn't here to jinx Puce into a jelly for insulting his sister.

Scorpius stares. Puce, who's in his year, has always seemed like one of the nicer Slytherins. But now it's clear that he's one of the stupidest. No one insults anyone in front of Lily if they've got an ounce of brains. Because Lily might be horrible in classes, but she's got a ridiculously advanced repertoire of curses and hexes- and she uses them indiscriminately.

Scorpius sees her stiffen and watches as her eyes narrow very slightly. Slowly, she turns to look at Puce. Her dancing hazel eyes are cold, and she's smiling in such a cheerful manner that it's threatening.

At least, Puce seems to think so, for he pales almost unnoticeably.

"Did I hear you say something rude about Roxy?" Lily asks, standing up and smiling at Puce, her large eyes widening into dangerous innocence.

Puce, who's a foot taller than tiny Lily, regains his confidence and sneers at her. "What's it to you, you little firstie twit?"

"Well," Lily says pleasantly, "she happens to be my friend, you snot-nosed, paramecium-brained, foul-mouthed bigot. She also happens to be brilliant at hexes. I wouldn't insult her if I was you."

Roxy grins, and she stands up, too. She and Lily share a quick glance, like they're reading each other's minds.

Al is watching them now like he's at a Quidditch match, and looks highly amused. Rose and Dominique are grinning like Christmas has come early, and Molly and Lucy have their wands out, too, and are watching closely in case something happens that the Dynamic Duo, as everyone calls Lily and Roxy, can't handle.

Puce sneers yet again. It's clear that he thinks that he's more than a match for these two tiny first years. "You both think you're so brilliant, don't you?" he sneers. "You're only on the Gryffindor Quidditch team because you're related to the captain and your mums played for the Holyhead Harpies."

"Really? Would you care to tell Professor McGonagall that? She's the one who insisted we try out," Lily says, still smiling. "Should we get him, Roxy?"

"Definitely." Roxy grins at her cousin. Then they both turn.

"Levicorpus!"

"Mobilus Corpus!"

"Liberacorpus!"

Puce falls onto the top of the Slytherin table, where his face lands in fourth year Robilius Cardwell's pudding.

"Sorry, Bill!" Roxy calls across the Hall. "Bit of retaliation, you know..."

Bill, who Scorpius suspects has a fancying for Rose (as most boys in her relative age range do) nods and blushes when Rose looks at him. "I- I get it."

Strangely enough, none of the teachers seem to have noticed this incident. Neither does the portrait of Professor Snape which hangs above the teachers' dais- it usually tells on every rule-breaker.

True, old Snoutworth notices, and tries to put the Dynamic Duo in detention. But since their "criminal files" mysteriously get incinerated the next day, just before they leave Hogwarts (James and Fred swear they have no idea how this happened) they go home miraculously unpunished. Puce never messes with either little girl again.

On Christmas of that year, Scorpius gives Lily a charm in the shape of a star, "because that's what you are, Lilybug." And at the afterparty when Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup, he gives her a tiny charm in the shape of a trophy.


	11. Chapter 11: Second Year

Chapter Eleven

In their second year, Lily, Roxy, Hugo, and Louis end their age-old Pranking War, instead becoming sworn friends and starting a new band of Marauders- Lily insists on being Prongs, like her granddad, since her Patronus is a stag, and Roxy, as Lily's best friend and a great dog lover (who produces a dog Patronus), wants to be Padfoot. Louis, who has loved fierce carnivorous animals since babyhood, decides he wants to be Moony (yes, his Patronus is a wolf), and Hugo, who refuses to be Wormtail, as he's not a traitor and hates rats, becomes Slinker (his Patronus is a weasel, and Ron doesn't like this at all). Moony, Slinker, Padfoot, and Prongs have their headquarters in the Shrieking Shack, which is now even more formidable to the people of Hogsmeade because it's said that Headmaster Snape was killed by Voldemort in there.

The band goes out pranking every Friday, explores the castle by night on Saturdays, and makes pranking itineraries on Sundays. They're very organized, and since no one but themselves know about their alliance, their pranks are usually unqualified successes. Now one can hardly ever see Lily's red head without seeing Roxy's black one, Hugo's brown one, and Louis's golden one, too.

Scorpius doesn't know about the Marauders, and this year he rather neglects his relationship with Lily. He and Rose begin to date in October. They do everything together, and during the Christmas and Easter holidays he prefers to spend time with his girlfriend rather than with Al and Lily. Lily actually spends more time at his house than he does.

Meanwhile, Lily seems to have figured out what Draco's problem is. After seeing his altered looks at Christmas, she spends every spare minute she has in the library, looking up magical illnesses, and consequently gets all "O's" in Herbology. During the Easter holidays, she goes to spend time with Draco every day, and shows him her findings.

"You could be in the early stages of internal spattergroit," she says one afternoon in his study, clutching a large leather-bound book from Hogwarts Library underneath her arm. "Or it could be chartal fever. Or dartline syndrome. The symptoms are all here."

Draco smiles kindly at her. "Lily, to hear you talk one would think I'm going to die."

"You could, if you have internal spattergroit or dartline syndrome!" Lily insists. "Draco, it's not funny. You need to go to Saint Mungo's. You've had whatever this is for some time. I don't want you to wait to find out how to cure it!"

"Lily, I'm only tired." Draco pulls out a chessboard. "I understand you're concerned, and I'm touched that you're concerned, but you're thirteen. Thirteen-year-olds have a natural tendency to overreact; I remember when Scorpius was that age. Want a game of Wizarding Chess?"

Lily sighs and gives up her crusade for the moment, and they play on uninterrupted until Scorpius himself enters the study, banging the door.

"Dad, can I have Rose over for the aftern- oh, hello, Lily."

Lily nods to him and smiles, but says nothing. She goes back to looking at the chessboard and trying to decide whether to sacrifice her queen or risk getting checkmated by checking Draco's king. She's not being petty. Scorpius clearly isn't interested in cultivating their friendship, and she's not going to put in any huge efforts to maintain it and waste her time. She has more important things to worry about, like Draco's illness and winning this game, though perhaps she's just the tiniest bit hurt that Scorpius didn't remember her birthday or get her anything at Christmas when he gave Rose an elaborate gold bracelet.

Scorpius looks closer at her, surprised at her lack of enthusiasm, and finds himself noticing the look of intense concentration on her face, the way her brows scrunch together, and the light in her starry hazel eyes. He finds himself noticing the rich hue of her hair, and then marking that she's still wearing his bracelet, the charms tinkling like fairy bells whenever she moves. He's thought her beautiful for some time, but now his chest gives a queer little twist at the sight of her, and he finds himself flushing at his father's questioning gaze, accompanied by a slight smirk.

You have a girlfriend. She's only just thirteen. What on earth are you thinking?

Partly to distract himself and partly because he wants to see her look at him again with those amazing large eyes of hers, he gestures to the bracelet. "Glad you still wear that, Lils. I forgot- what charms have I added to it this year? There's the lily- and the snowflake, but they were from a while back..."

Lily looks up at him contemplatively, but doesn't answer.

"Well? Which ones have I added this year?" he repeats.

"You haven't added any this year," Lily says finally in a quiet but matter-of-fact tone. "Not since we won the Quidditch Cup."

"No, that's- that's not true! I did- on your birthday, and on Christmas. I must have!"

Lily shakes her head. "You didn't remember my birthday, Scorpius," she says in the same voice. "And you never gave me a Christmas present."

Scorpius flushes. He feels an overwhelming sense of shame, especially when he looks down at the gold watch he still uses every day, and remembers the sneakoscope she gave him for Christmas and the never-fail Spellcheck Quill she got him for his birthday. She's never forgotten him.

But he's neglected her shamefully, and he owes so much to her!

"You can invite Rose," Draco finally says, looking a trifle confused.

And Scorpius leaves the room as quickly as he can, unable to face Lily's gaze any longer.

If she was resentful, or angry, it might now be easier to bear. However, her kind manner, the complete lack of bitterness in her tone- it's too much for him. He doesn't invite Rose, and spends the rest of the day out somewhere- no one knows exactly where.

And that night Lily receives a small, hastily wrapped package. And when she opens it, she finds no less than seven beautiful charms- a lilypad to go with her lily, a little songbird because she loves to sing, a scorpion to remind her of him, a cherry, which is her favourite fruit, a little lion because she's a Gryffindor, a little gold snitch charm because she's a seeker, and a silver sickle moon charm because of her middle name.

There's also a note, which causes Lily to smile when she reads it and write him a very nice reply.

In the postscript she tells him to remind Draco to think about what she has told him that day.


	12. Chapter 12: Third Year

Chapter Twelve: Third Year

Scorpius tries not to think about the small revelation he has had over the Easter holidays, but as the next year progresses, it's hard not to, because Lily, who has always been a bit of an ugly duckling, suddenly flares into graceful beauty, shocking and delighting everyone. She grows taller, and her freckles begin to gradually disappear. Her lashes get longer and thicker, and she exchanges her awkward gangly figure for a slim, graceful one. She's actually positively gorgeous, in a tomboyish way, and boys in her year begin to take notice of her- at least, until she and her brothers make it quite clear that she has no desire for a boyfriend. Lorcan Scamander, a shy Ravenclaw who is the son of her namesake, still fancies her even after the others are scared off. But Lily respects his liking, because it existed before she was pretty and will continue to exist, she knows, even if she looks like a hag the next day. He doesn't care that she's a famous Potter. And as he doesn't ask her for anything, but merely talks to her and does quiet things for her, she is kinder to him than to any other non-relative but Scorpius- to the immense envy and confusion of the more popular third year boys.

Scorpius, who is falling fast (though he doesn't know it), can't help watching Lily when he thinks she's not looking, and trying to talk to her every chance he gets. No longer is she a starry-eyed little girl; now she is a young woman with eyes that seem to glow, and he worships the ground she walks on.

The day she turns fourteen, her brothers (aided by Scorpius and Rose) throw a party, and Lily walks into the common room muddy and wet to find every Gryffindor in the school there to wish her a happy birthday.

"Oh, you prats," she exclaims happily, and runs to hug her brothers. "You did this all yourself?"

"Well," Al says, kissing the top of her head, "Scorpius and Rose helped."

Lily turns and hugs Rose, then Scorpius, and he flushes so red he thinks he must look like a tomato. Lily, muddy and wet, looks a thousand times better than she does in the horrid dresses her grandmother usually wants her to wear to parties. Her hazel eyes are shining, and the feel of her slim arms around him makes his heart sound like a cannon in his own ears. Dimly, he wonders why he is feeling like this.

Al laughs, and so does Rose, though Rose's laugh is a trifle strained; Lily pulls away and smiles at Scorpius, making his heart feel as though someone is squeezing it, before dancing off to find Roxy; her hair is in a ponytail so long it reaches her waist, but it still dances through the air behind her. She seems to be a creature of light and wind.

From that day forward, Scorpius is in love. He can't help it, and sometimes the suspicious look in Rose's eyes strikes fear into him. He DOES fancy Rose- doesn't he? Rose is beautiful, clever, kind- everything he's ever wanted in a girlfriend. He tries to convince himself that what he feels for this big-eyed Potter girl is merely elder-brotherly. But somehow he can't quite convince himself.

Perhaps he would speak up about it if he wasn't mortally afraid of the reactions of Al and James, who think that no one on earth is good enough for their little sister. But he is afraid, and still convinced Rose is the girl for him, and so he lives with his growing doubt and Rose's growing suspicions.

For Christmas, he can't help buying her a beautiful little gold bracelet along with a stocking charm, and for her birthday he gives her a little circular locket-charm with a tiny little diamond on the lid. She places a picture of him inside it because she says she wants to remember who has given her all the lovely charms; she has nineteen of them now, and they're all crowded together on the bracelet, so he gets her another bracelet to move some of the charms onto. She insists on wearing both bracelets all the time, and Al insists that his pretty little sister is rather like a goat because you can always hear that she's coming before you see her by the tinkling, chimelike sound of the bracelets.

To tell the truth, Lily doesn't really care that she's suddenly become pretty. She's still herself, isn't she? She still knocks about with Roxy and Hugo and Louis, she still plays Seeker for the Gryffindor team, still pranks and insults all gits, and still spends hours in the library looking for answers to Draco's problem.

She sees him at Christmas growing worse than ever, though he still insists he's fine- "It's just a tired spell, Lily. My, what a beautiful girl you've gotten to be." During the Easter holidays, he says nearly the same thing, though not with as much conviction. But when Lily comes home for the summer and visits Draco once more, his illness is too obvious even to him to deny- and too late to stop, as Lily predicted a year before. A Healer from Saint Mungo's comes and confirms the girl's worst fears.

Draco Malfoy is dying. And there's nothing anyone can do.


	13. Chapter 13: The Reaper

Chapter Thirteen: The Reaper Whose Name is Death

Lily refuses to leave Malfoy Manor all summer, even for the Weasley family trip (and they go to France, her favourite country besides England). She prefers to stay with Draco, voraciously reading the manuals Saint Mungo's sends and trying as hard as she can to hold the man she loves nearly as much as her own father to life.

Scorpius won't leave, either, and his grief allows him to push past his awkwardness around Lily. He, too, reads the manuals, and does everything he can- reads to Draco, makes food his father can eat, and paints the walls of the bedroom the poor man lies dying in with the brightest colours he can get. It's after one of these painting sessions that he hears something he has never heard before.

He hears Lily crying.

She's huddled on the big chair in Draco's study, hugging a medical book to her chest and sobbing. It isn't a pretty sight, seeing her cry. She isn't crying like Rose sometimes cries- tears trickling from her eyes which only make her look prettier. Lily's face is red and her hair is rumpled and messy. Her eyes are squeezed shut and she's shaking like mad. But Scorpius has never loved her more than he does at this moment. He comes over to the couch and sits next to her, pulling the book gently from her hands and taking her in his arms like a child.

He doesn't tell her that "it's" alright, whatever "it" is, or that "it" WILL be alright, if "it" isn't now. He holds her and strokes her hair, saying nothing. He is comforted himself, somehow, by comforting Lily. His grief fades just a little, for now, and in a minute Lily can speak through her tears.

"I- I thought-" she hiccups. "I thought I could help him. But I can't! It's- it's dartline syndrome, Healer Davidson said it was, and there's no known- no known cure at this stage, I've looked through every book in this house. Scorpius, I'm so frightened- and- and so sad!"

"You can help him," Scorpius tells her. "You're helping him now. He loves you, Lily, and having you with him- I think that comforts him a lot."

Lily sniffs. "Scorpius, you do know he loves you, don't you?"

Scorpius nods slowly. "Of course- of course I know that. But- well-"

"He loves you much more than he loves me. You're his son." Lily wipes her eyes and rests her head on his shoulder again. Neither of them consider this a romantic gesture. It's purely an attempt at comfort in the face of great grief.

As the next weeks go by, Draco Malfoy gradually loses his ability to speak. He cannot dress himself- Scorpius must do it for him. And he can't eat solid foods- the food has to be charmed into his stomach. Despite the nourishment he receives, he is skeletally thin. Scorpius and Lily, tending him, see the changes and know that soon Draco must leave the earth for another life.

And three weeks before the next year of school begins, Draco Malfoy dies. The last thing he sees before he passes is Scorpius and Lily, side by side, looking down at him anxiously. Scorpius has one arm around Lily, something Draco has always wanted to see. He smiles feebly, and closes his eyes.

The watching pair know he is gone, and Lily suddenly loses the ability to stand. Her legs crumple beneath her, and Scorpius catches her, holding her close as she bursts into tears again.


	14. Chapter 14: Last Will and Testament

The funeral of Draco Lucius Malfoy is attended by hundreds and hundreds of wizards who may not have liked him in earlier life, but have learned to respect him later. The entire Weasley family goes, and though Scorpius would rather sit by Lily, who is going through a hard period of life and has shared in all his own grief, Rose insists very firmly that he sit by her. Dimly, Scorpius feels that a crisis is coming, and that it has something to do with Lily.

Lily herself sits next to her godmother, Luna Lovegood, who has some of Lily's spark and who understands the girl perhaps better than almost anyone else.

"He's not really gone, you know," Luna says thoughtfully to her. "The people we love are never really gone. He's out there somewhere, and you're going to see him again."

Lily rests her head on Luna's shoulder. "I wish I knew that for sure." Her tears have stopped, but the grief hasn't. Wave after wave of guilt and remorse sweeps over her at not having contacted Saint Mungo's herself when she knew Draco was ill.

"It isn't your fault," Luna says serenely.

Scorpius is made to speak. The Minister of Magic speaks. Harry speaks. All the words are a jumble to the two who loved the man most.

After the funeral is over, Harry comes up to Scorpius (who has Rose on his arm, as always). "Where are you going to stay, Scorpius? You can't stay at the Manor by yourself."

Scorpius shrugs, looking confused and alone. "I don't know, Mr. Potter. I- I never had a godfather."

Harry puts a hand on the boy's shoulder and smiles at him. "You'll stay with us, then. You can share Al's room."

"Oh, but Uncle Harry," Rose objects, "I wanted him to stay at my-"

"No offence, Rose," Scorpius interjects, "but people would gossip if I was staying at your house, and your dad would murder me. I'll stay with the Potters."

Rose looks at him suspiciously. As they walk away, she says, "It's because of Lily."

"What is?"

"You're staying with the Potters because of Lily. Are you cheating on me?"

Scorpius stares at her in blatant shock. "No, Rose! Merlin, why would you think that?"

"For the past year, I've caught you staring at her, not me. You make efforts to get those stupid little charms for her, not me. You wanted to sit next to her today, not me. I'm your girlfriend, Scorpius Malfoy! What do you want from me? More attention? I already spend half the time I should be studying with you!" She pauses. "Do you love her?"

"Who?"

"Lily."

And suddenly, it hits him, the reason why he feels this overpowering urge to protect the girl with the hazel eyes from sadness and pain, why he makes efforts to make her happy, why his heart pounds inside his chest whenever she's near.

Some say that you're only really in love when you're more concerned for the person you love than you are for yourself, and want to see them happy, no matter what that means for you. According to that standard, Scorpius is in love.

And it hits him in a millisecond.

He loves Lily.

"Well?" Rose asks.

Slowly, he nods. He can't lie to her anymore, not now that he's stopped lying to himself.

Rose's face crumples. "Scorpius, why? Is it because she stayed with your dad all summer? I could have done that, Scorpius! I could have-"

Scorpius cuts her off. "You wouldn't have been doing it for him, Rose- you know you wouldn't. You never liked my father much. You would have been doing it to keep your boyfriend. That's why I'm in love with Lily. She's never done something from selfish motives- Rose, wait! I'm not saying that you're selfish, I just-"

But she's gone, and the next day at the Potters' he receives a letter from her:

Dear Scorpius,

It's over. I won't hold you to a relationship you don't want. I'm truly sorry about your father, and I wish you the best.

Here's the bracelet you gave me, and the necklace.

Maybe you should give them to Lily instead.

Rose

When the will of Draco Malfoy is read, its contents shock many people. For one thing, he has left Scorpius the Manor and everything in it for immediate sale, instead of making him wait until he is seventeen to withdraw it.

Lily knows that Scorpius can't stand to see the house anymore, and that the sale will help him later. She knows that Draco understood how his son would feel. So she isn't surprised at that.

But what she is surprised at is that Draco Malfoy has left her all the gold in his Gringotts vault. She is suddenly an heiress, and doesn't know why she should be. She thinks the money should be given to Scorpius, and she tries to do it, but he won't hear of it.

"The Manor and everything in it is worth four times that amount," he tells her. "I have enough money to be getting on with."

"But Scorpius, I don't want the money-"

"And neither do I. But keep it- you never know when it will be helpful." They're walking along the sidewalks in the Grimmauld Place neighbourhood. Scorpius is idly tearing leaves from the young trees as they pass, and Lily is looking at the ground. She does that very often these days.

"Scorpius, why hasn't Rose been over here? Everyone else has, even Lucy. Why not Rose?"

Scorpius flushes. "We ended it."

"Who ended it, you or her? I know you didn't both do it."

Scorpius flushes. "She did."

Lily looks at him keenly. "You don't seem very sad about it."

"I'm not."

Lily decides to let the matter drop.

Later that night, Scorpius and Al hear sobs coming from Lily's room.

"Just can't get over it," Al says, shaking his head. "She hasn't pranked me once all summer. She took it hard."

"Yeah," Scorpius agrees.

They hear a door creak, and footsteps heading towards the direction of the crying.

"Probably James," Al says. "Reckon we should go, too?"

Scorpius nods, and they leave the room, heading towards Lily's.

It IS James, and he's sitting next to Lily on her bed with his arm around her, awkwardly patting her shoulder. He beckons to Al and Scorpius, and soon Lily's being held by all three as she cries.

But she can't hold out forever, and soon she falls asleep, teardrops still glistening on her cheeks.

"Wish we could keep her like this forever," James whispers.

"Yeah," Al agrees. "I'd like to see any bloke try to love our sister as much as we do."

Scorpius says nothing, but feels his heart sink slightly. Because even though he wants to think Lily's brothers will come around eventually, he knows they won't. They love her too much to give her up to anyone, even Al's best friend.

Later that night, he searches through his suitcase until he finds what it is he's looking for- a tiny little opal heart charm he bought long ago, thinking he could maybe give it to Rose, before realising that charms for a charm bracelet were only for Lily. He's kept it all these years, though at first he didn't know why. When he brought it to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, he thought of giving to Lily. Now he knows he can't- still, something makes him slip it into his robe pocket.


	15. Chapter 15: Fourth Year

About five weeks into the school year, Lily regains her happy demeanour through a prolonged correspondence with Luna, and is soon back to pranking and joking, though she never jokes about Draco.

Scorpius, knowing as he now does just how much she means to him, can't help becoming gradually happier himself, seeing her happy. He finds himself watching her more and more each day, and loving her more and more, too. But when Al comments on his strange behaviour one day at lunch in the Great Hall, Scorpius panics and won't speak to Lily for a week.

This only makes Al note his behaviour more, unfortunately.

The Marauders continue to operate, and at the end of October, in the Gryffindor Common Room, the day before the Halloween Feast-

"Roxy, I did it!" Lily yells, delight in her voice.

"Did what?" Roxy comes over to the table Lily is at and looks down. "Lils, that's a spare bit of parchment- it's pretty big, but that's it."

"Shh!" Lily hisses. "Hugo! Louis! Over here!"

"What is it, Prongs?" Hugo asks as he and Louis dash over (they know by now that when Lily calls, fun is in store).

"Watch this." Lily taps the large sheet of parchment three times with her wand, then whispers: "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Thin, spidery lines of ink spread across the parchment at the top.

"Messrs. Moony, Slinker, Padfoot, and Prongs are proud to present to you the Marauders' Map," Louis whispers as the words are revealed. "Sacré bleu, Prongs, this is why you got all "O's" in Charms last year, isn't it?"

Lily nods, grinning. "Spot-on, Moony, as always. Watch. There's more."

The ink lines continue to spread across the parchment, revealing a full-scale map of Hogwarts.

Roxanne claps a hand to her mouth to repress a squeal of excitement. "Prongs, is this- I remember Uncle Harry telling us about this, but didn't it stop working after Uncle Remus died?"

"This," Lily whispers proudly, "is an updated edition, Padfoot. I made it myself. Look, there's all our secret passageways, and when we find more, I'll add them in!"

"What're all those little moving dots?" Hugo asks.

"Look closer, Slinker. Goodness!"

Hugo leans closer to the parchment and grins with delight. "They're people! Look, here we are in the Common Room! Prongs, d'you mean we can track everyone in Hogwarts with this? No more getting caught by Snoutworth when we're exploring?"

Lily nods. "That's exactly what I mean."

Louis whistles. "That's bloody brilliant, Prongs. Good work."

"What do you say we take it out and test it right now?" Lily asks, grinning.

Louis hesitates. "I don't know, Prongs- I've got a Herbology paper due tomorrow and I'm only two inches above the one-foot requirement-"

"So you're done. Let's go!"

Lily taps the parchment once more with her wand, whispering, "Mischief managed." Then the four cousins get up and dash to the portrait hole, whispering and laughing to each other.

"Where are those four off to?" Scorpius asks Al. "Curfew is in ten minutes."

Al shakes his head. "When has that ever mattered to them? Don't be a spoilsport and tell on them, Mr. I'm A Prefect."

Scorpius laughs dryly. "Wasn't planning to."

His smile slides off his face hurriedly as he sees Rose watching him out of the corner of her eyes. He gives a feeble wave, but she only huffs and turns the other way.

One Saturday night in mid-November, the Marauders are executing their weekly exploration of Hogwarts, and are just pausing to look behind the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls to dance ballet when Lily, who's got the map in one hand, happens to look down.

"Blimey, mates," she says weakly, "Snoutworth- he's coming this way, from the right!"

"Hide behind the tapestry," Louis suggests.

"What, Moony, you think he won't notice four conspicuous lumps and four sets of feet sticking out of the bottom?"

"That- that door-" Roxy says suddenly.

Lily turns. "What door?"

Roxy points. "That one."

Right opposite to them is a dark-wooded door with a brass knob which certainly wasn't there when they came.

"Don't you think-" Hugo starts.

"Snoutworth is almost here. No time to think," Lily says. "Let's go."

They open the door and dart inside the room beyond.

It's a high-ceilinged room, completely and totally empty, and filled with a strange sort of glowing light that doesn't have a source. There are scorch marks on the floors and all the way up to the ceiling, and the marble tile is cracked in several places.

"I know this place," Lily says in awe, turning to the others with an enthusiastic light in her eyes. "Roxy, what were you thinking before you saw this door?"

Roxy shrugs. "Just that we needed to get away from Snoutworth, and quickly."

Lily nods. "So it IS what I think it is!"

"What is it?" Hugo asks skeptically.

"It's the Room of Requirement," Lily says, smiling broadly. "Dad told me about it. It appears when you need it, and it gives you what you need, too- or at least, it used to." She frowns. "Dad said it didn't work anymore. The scorch marks are from Fiendfyre- it destroyed the room during the Second Wizarding War."

"Clearly, it works now," Louis says, shrugging.

"But Dad tried to use it, and it wouldn't work for him."

Roxy shakes her head. "It sounds like it's a really magical room. Maybe it can heal itself."

Lily frowns. "Well, then, let's test it."

"How?" Hugo asks.

"Easy. Ask it for something."

Hugo grins. "Alright. Umm... Could the Room make itself into a headquarters for the Marauders, Lily?"

Lily shrugs. "Maybe something smaller. I don't know if something that big'll... work..."

But even as she speaks, the walls shimmer and turn a dark green. The scorch marks disappear, and the floor is covered by a darker green carpet. On the opposite wall from the door, a circular emblem appears, with four swirled colours: red, brown, black, and gold, for the different shades of their hair. Bookshelves pop up along the wall with the symbol and along two other walls. They fill themselves with books, and shelves which pop out of the last remaining wall, the wall with the door in it, fill themselves with cloaks, hats, and strange golden instruments.

"Wicked," Hugo grins.

"Definitely," Lily agrees.

"I love this," Roxy sighs.

Louis goes to the bookshelves and begins to look at the books there. "These are amazing! Look: Pranks for the Ultimate Prankster, How to Fool Your Foes: Concealment for the Crafty, and Potions for Pranksters!"

"THESE, I'll read," Roxy grins.

Lily runs to pull a cloak off a shelf. "Look at this!" She swings it over her shoulders, pulls the hood over her head, and disappears.

"Whoa," Hugo says. He runs over and pulls a strange-looking, dusty box from another shelf. "Roxy, it's one of your dad's Skiving Snackboxes- looks like a first edition!"

Roxy runs over, clutching a book under one arm. "It'd be nice to have someplace to sit while we look at the books and the items."

Before she's finished saying it, there are four poufy red chairs facing a round table in the very centre of the room.

"How bloody brilliant can this get?" Hugo asks excitedly.

"I think we're about to find out," Lily replies, grinning.


End file.
